Haalbai: A traditional sweet that’s soft and melts in your mouth!

Ingredients

Grated coconut- 1 cup

Rice- 1 cup

3 or 4 cardamoms

Soak the above ingredients in very little water overnight or for at least three hours. Grind these together. Filter it using a tea filter. Keep this on a stove. Add 1 cup jaggery and keep stirring till the whole thing becomes thick and starts separating from the vessel. Add a spoonful of ghee in the end and pour it on a buttered plate. Make diamond shapes and serve hot or even cold!

Traditional Gojjina Kosambari

Traditional Gojjina Kosambari

Ingredients:

Green gram dal -1 cup

Bengal gram dal-1 cup

Soak both these dals for 5 hrs or overnight

To make Gojju

Ingredients:

Jaggery – Lemon size

Tamarind –Lemon size

Red chillies- 6 to 8

Mustard seeds- Half a teaspoon

Asafoetida- a pinch

Cucumber- 1 cup (finely chopped)

Coconut grated- 1 cup

In a thick bottomed pan, heat two teaspoons of oil, add mustard seeds, when it splatters add red chillies, tamarind water, salt to taste, jaggery and keep stirring till it thickens to the consistency of sauce.

Mix this sauce with the soaked dals, add freshly grated coconut and mix it up just before you serve it –the taste is sweet and tangy! Remember that if it’s mixed with sauce long before it’s served, it gets watery. So always store the sauce separately.